Unifrance swings into action for the fall season

Unifrance is present at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival, held from August 28 through September 6, where Club Unifrance (located on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior, Venice Lido) is playing host to the majority of film crews from French films included in the festival selection. Barbet Schroeder, Benoît Magimel, and Lika Minamoto met with international media representatives for Inju, la bête dans l'ombre (Inju), Avi Mograbi for Z32, Sylvie Verheyde and Leora Barbara for Stella, Agnès Varda for Les Plages d’Agnès (The Beaches of Agnès), Tariq Teguia for Gabbla, Andrei Schtakleff and Jonathan Le Fourn for L’Exil et le royaume, Jean-Pierre Duret and Andrea Santana for Puisque nous sommes nés, Arnaud des Pallières, Sergi Lopez, and Jean-Marc Barr for Parc, Philippe Grandrieux and Dimitri Kubasov for Un Lac, Samuel Collardey for L’Apprenti, and Barmak Akram for Kabuli Kid.

At the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, held from September 4 through 13, a hotel suite has been set aside to host press relations for around fifteen creative crew members from French productions that have already, or have not as yet, secured a distribution deal in North America. These films are: Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera (With a Little Help from Myself) by François Dupeyron, Eden Log by Franck Vestiel, Hooked by Adrian Sitaru, Inju, la bête dans l'ombre (Inju) by Barbet Schroeder, Je veux voir (I Want to See) by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Kabuli Kid by Barmak Akram, Martyrs by Pascal Laugier, Nuit de chien (aka This Night and Tonight) by Werner Schroeter, Parc by Arnaud des Pallières, Salamandra by Pablo Aguero, 35 Rhums by Claire Denis, Un barrage contre le Pacifique (The Sea Wall) by Rithy Panh, and Un Conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale) by Arnaud Desplechin.

All French productions that have not yet found a Spanish distributor will benefit from the services of an international press attaché at the upcoming 2008 San Sebastian International Film Festival, to be held from September 18 through 27. To date, some fifteen French productions and co-productions are to be showcased in the various festival sections at San Sebastian.

Late September will see the following film festivals opening their doors: the Zurich-Bienne Helvetia French Film Festival, the Helsinki International Film Festival - Love & Anarchy, the Hamburg Filmfest, the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, the Namur International Francophone Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival. At all of these events, Unifrance has closely collaborated with festival organizers for the selection of French films and the participation of French guests.